Conserving Degas

Watch a video about the construction of a new tutu for The Met’s cast of Degas’s famous sculpture, The Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer. The Met’s costume conservator Glenn Peterson discusses the history of the sculpture and the decisions made in the conservation of its tutu. The sculpture, usually on view at The Met Fifth Avenue, is currently featured in the exhibition Like Life: Sculpture, Color, and the Body (1300–Now), on view at The Met Breuer through July 22, 2018. Featured Artwork: Edgar Degas (French, 1834–1917). The Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer, model executed ca. 1880, cast 1922. French, Paris. Cast by A. A. Hébrard. Bronze, partially tinted, with cotton skirt and satin hair ribbon; wood base; 38 1/2 x 17 1/4 x 14 3/8 in. (97.8 x 43.8 x 36.5 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929 () Like Life: Sculpture, Color, and the B